


Assumptions about Michelle Jones: Friends

by RedUmbrella89



Series: Who is Michelle Jones? [1]
Category: Spider-Man (Tom Holland Movies)
Genre: A little insight into MJ, F/M, MJ Needs a Hug, Pre-Spider-Man: Homecoming
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-05
Updated: 2019-09-05
Packaged: 2020-10-10 18:29:21
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 760
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20532593
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RedUmbrella89/pseuds/RedUmbrella89
Summary: People made a lot of assumptions about Michelle Jones. The most common of these were that she was scary, that she was cold and that she didn’t care about anything...but there was one assumption that always stuck out as being so very wrong that it was almost laughable: that Michelle Jones didn’t want friends.





	Assumptions about Michelle Jones: Friends

**Author's Note:**

> I love Marvel's Spiderman and this had everything to do with Tom Holland but my love for MJ has just continued to grow until I want to give that damn girl a hug. Why does MJ have no friends pre-homecoming? I wanted to explore that a little bit so here we are...

People made a lot of assumptions about Michelle Jones. The most common of these were that she was scary, that she was cold and that she didn’t care about anything. People also said that she was weird but that never made sense to MJ; weird is relative. The comments about her being scary, cold and uncaring didn’t bother her all that much, she actively encouraged them most of the time, but there was one assumption that always stuck out as being so very wrong that it was almost laughable: that Michelle Jones didn’t want friends. 

Who wouldn’t want friends? Michelle would think whenever she saw groups huddled together in the corridors or laughing in the cafeteria. But wanting and having are two very different things. To have friends you need to be open, enthusiastic and sociable and Michelle knew she was not any of those things. She had hobbies she enjoyed, like drawing and reading and sure, there were plenty of people who enjoyed such things too, but growing up she’d never found a way to connect with people over them. After a while she just stopped trying.

So, her books became her friends. They kept her company at lunch, gave her advice on life and broadened her horizons. Though fully aware that the constant reading was making her seem like even more of a loner Michelle couldn’t find it in her to stop. She loved her books and was even proud to be known as the ‘bookish’ one among her peers.

But that didn’t stop the small seed of hope from blooming in her chest whenever one of the decathlon team sat next to her on the bus or one of her classmates asked for her help with a homework assignment. Perhaps this time she would connect with one of them, maybe this time one of them would be able to see that scary, cold Michelle was actually just regular, normal Michelle. 

It didn’t happen of course. People aren’t overly keen to try and make friends with someone who is hard work and Michelle was self-aware enough to know that she was deemed as such. Sarcasm and dry wit aren’t everyone’s cup of tea and Michelle had learnt early on in freshman year that most people didn’t understand her humour, nor were they able to handle her blunt, honest manner. 

Peter Parker, however, was not most people.

It all started one day when he casually dropped down in the seat next to her at decathlon with a chirpy “hey,” in greeting. Michelle had been too surprised to give more than sharp jerk of her chin in acknowledgement. He had only recently joined the team, he was probably unaware of the unspoken rule that people didn’t sit next to her, because Michelle ‘liked to be left alone.’

However, as the weeks wore on Peter kept up a constant stream of friendly chatter and Michelle let her hopes creep up that maybe he was someone who might be friends with her. She wasn’t under any delusion that his friendly attention was directed solely at her. She had begun watching him and ‘kind’ was his default setting; holding open doors for people, helping people carry heavy books, assisting Liz in setting up decathlon practice. Still, he didn’t seem bothered by her aloof exterior and even continued to speak amiably to her after she called him a loser for the first time - he'd merely shrugged and given her a dopey grin. 

It would have been easy to continue to build a friendship with Peter – as easy as it could get for Michelle at any rate – since he was just so warm and open but, of course, things never ran that smooth for Michelle. Soon, all of the traits that had originally made Michelle feel like she could be friends with Peter became the very reasons why she couldn’t. His kindness, his earnest, open face, his gorgeous smile, his energy, his…everything. Being near him went from being fun and relaxing to a stressful nightmare with her stomach full of knots. Michelle had never been more devastated at having a crush on someone because how could she be friends with him now? 

Every time he gave her a friendly wave she would freeze and walk away; whenever he sat next to her at decathlon, she would indiscreetly move a couple of seats over. She could see the confusion in his eyes as she turned away from him, so she stopped looking. Her gaze returned to her books and Michelle once again became the ‘loner’.

**Author's Note:**

> In Spiderman: Homecoming MJ is always in the background of Peter's life. She's not the focus for him but I imagine him trying to be friendly with Michelle earlier in their school lives and this being the result. He tried, it didn't work, so he moved on.


End file.
